Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Position in Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of Haleon plc (NYSE:HLN - Free Report) by 56.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 266,881 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 96,574 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV's holdings in Haleon were worth $2,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Haleon by 2,029.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 3,513 shares of the company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 3,348 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Haleon during the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. FIL Ltd grew its position in Haleon by 45.7% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,049 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 1,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Haleon in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 6.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Haleon Stock Down 0.4%

NYSE:HLN traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $10.70. 7,311,293 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,762,480. Haleon plc has a 12-month low of $8.24 and a 12-month high of $10.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $10.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a current ratio of 0.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.24.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter. Haleon had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 10.85%. The firm had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. On average, equities analysts forecast that Haleon plc will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be given a dividend of $0.1166 per share. This represents a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. This is an increase from Haleon's previous -- dividend of $0.05. Haleon's payout ratio is currently 58.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HLN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Haleon from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.25 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday. Hsbc Global Res lowered Haleon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 5th. HSBC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Haleon has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $11.25.

Haleon Profile

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.